Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image retrieving and delivering system and an image retrieving and delivering method in which a feature degree and/or format information are extracted from each piece of image data such as a moving picture, a static picture or the like recorded in an analog or digital form, one piece of image data is retrieved by using the extracted feature degree of the image data, a format of the image data obtained as a retrieval result is converted according to a processing capability of a user terminal in which the image data is to be received, and the image data is delivered to the user terminal.
Description of Related Art
A system described in “Open type image data base GIRLS aiming at a medium of a network type multimedia information” (Shingaku technical reports) provides an example of a conventional image retrieving and delivering system operated with a network. In this system, pieces of image data scattered on a network are collected by using the World Wide (WWW) functioning as an information providing system on the network, a data base of the pieces of image data is automatically produced, and a piece of desired image data is retrieved from the produced data base.
First, the WWW is described. In the WWW, image data is expressed as a document of a hyper text file (hereinafter, called an HTML file) described by a language called a Hyper Text Makeup Language (HTML). Also, in the HTML, link information to another HTML file or another piece of image data is described by using a network address called a universal resource locator (URL). When a URL of an HTML file or a piece of image data is specified, an asynchronous transfer can be performed for information positioned at a network address of the URL according to a protocol called an Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP).
Here, returning to the description of the conventional image retrieving and delivering system, the conventional system is composed of a data base structuring unit and a data base searching unit. First, in the data base structuring unit, pieces of link information are traced one after another from a certain URL to collect pieces of information, and a data base of the pieces of information is automatically structured. Specifically, image data relating to an HTML file corresponding to the certain URL is transferred to the data base structuring unit by using the HTTP. Thereafter, the image data relating to the HTML file is analyzed in the data base structuring unit to take out an image and a link to another HTML file from the image data. Thereafter, an image processing is performed for the obtained image in the data base structuring unit to extract a feature degree from the image, and supplementary information is extracted from the HTML file in which the URL of the image is described. Here the supplementary information indicates, for example, the URL of the image. The feature of the extracted image, the supplementary information and a contracted image of the image data are registered in the data base by the function of the data base structuring unit.
Also, in the data base searching unit, image data close to a user's request is retrieved according to the features of the images registered in the data base. The retrieved image data is converted into an HTML file, and the user can read the HTML file by using a WWW browser.
In a conventional image retrieving and delivering system with the above configuration, because it is assumed that client terminals such as a personal computer and a work station respectively connected with an internet, to which image data obtained as a retrieval result is to be delivered, have almost the same processing capability as each other, the image data obtained as the retrieval result is edited and processed in only a predetermined format, and the image data obtained as the retrieval result is delivered to the client terminal. Therefore, in cases where a processing a capability of the user's terminal is low, there is a problem that the user cannot use the conventional image retrieving and delivering system.